Calibrated BOLD fMRI of HIV Associated Neurocognititve Impairment (HNCI)

Dr. Ances and his associates are conducting this research study to learn more about the effects of infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) within the brain. You may be eligable to participate in this study if you have tested positive for exposure to HIV and are either (a) newly infected with the virus or (b) are starting to take a new regiment of anti-retroviral medications. You may also be eligable if you are a community control, not infected with HIV. Some people infected with HIV may experience problems with quickly remebering new information and other thinking difficulties. These problems may reflect differences in how the brain is functioning and could be visualized by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI uses a scanner to take pictures of the brain. One of the goals of the research is to determine if, and how, new drug treatments for HIV disease are improving funtion of the brain and how HIV may affect the brain. Therefore it is necessary to perform examinations on people with and without HIV. Some HIV infected subjects will be scanned before and again after treatments are began or changed. There will be compensation for participating in this study. If you would like more detailed information please read over the consent form provided below or call Dr. Ances.

BOLD consent - PDF 551 KB

What's an MRI Like?

The MRI scan for this study takes approximately 1.5 hours to complete. The subject lays on the scanner bed with a pillow and warm blanket for comfort. The subject will wear headphones and be able to listen to music during the scan. The headphones are also useful to cancel the noise of the scanner itself, which will make clicking noises throughout the scan. The subject will be asked to remove all metal, including identification and credit cards, from his/her person before having the scan done (there are lockers available to store these items). Subjects are asked to keep their heads as still as possible because movement will blur the images that are taken. If you would like more information on the MRI machine or the CCIR where MRIs will be taken, visit their web site!

PIB Imaging of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND)

Dr. Ances and his associates are conducting this research study to learn more about the effects of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) within the brain. Subjects are asked to participate becaues they have tested positive for eposure to HIV. Some people infected with HIV may experience thinking difficulties. These problems mayb be reflected in differences in how the brain is functioning and could be visualized by the presence of amyloid deposits (plaques in the brain. Amyloid is a protein that may be related to cognitive impairment. Subjects must be between the ages of 40 and 75 years old and infected with HIV. This study is being conducted at Washingtion University in St. Louis. A total of 30 HIV+ subjects will be recruited for this study. Participants will be injected with a radio-active tracer called PIB and then have a PET (positron emmitions topography) scan. The PIB binds to the plaques in the brain and makes them visible on the scan images. Subjects will also be asked to have an MRI scan on the same day. There will be compensation for participating in this study. If you would like more detailed information please read over the consent form provided below or call Dr. Ances.

PIB Consent- PDF 472 KB